Yes, you can use colored pencils to "paint" or color on rocks instead of paint! I didn't feel like getting my paints out this evening so I decided to try colored pencils instead. I had a brand new bag of rocks just waiting to be colored and I couldn't resist! I'm in love!!! I used my favorite Prismacolor colored pencils on the raw rock. The only thing that I did was rinse and dry the rock before I got started. I've always loved my Prismacolor pencils because the colors are so bright and vivid. They are super soft and blend easily (unlike cheaper colored pencils) and these are even waterproof. You could use paint and pens/markers along with colored pencils if you wanted an even richer look. When I was done I wanted to see how well my sealer worked and prayed it wouldn't smear the colored pencils! Guess what, it came out perfectly with my clear spray sealer. I'm excited to have another media to use on my rocks now and can't wait to work on a few more colored pencil rocks ... [ Read More ]
Painted Rock Challenge – October 2017
Hello again rock friends!! I hope you're having a rocking good day! How many times have you refreshed the page today hoping to see the latest list? Thanks for being so patient as I enjoyed a relaxing Saturday with the family. In addition to a little rock painting, our Saturday's are spent watching college football (Go Dawgs!!) October was a fun list to create!! We love Halloween here and I cannot wait to see all your spooky and fun rocks this month. In addition, I created a new "easier" version for newbies and kids! While I labeled it "For Kids," the themes are just a little easier than the original challenge list and open for anyone to paint. I know my daughter loves to paint with me and others have said that some of the challenge themes are too complicated or hard for little kids. I hope they love the new kids list and I can't wait to see their work too. Please feel free to share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or anywhere you happen to be. If you’re posting your rock ... [ Read More ]
Finding Beauty After the Storm
This post is sponsored by prAna. "If you truly love nature, you'll find beauty everywhere." - Vincent VanGogh ...you can even find beauty following a hurricane. It's been over a week since Hurricane Irma left her mark on my beautiful State and my spirit, but in the devastation I found beauty all around me. As we watch the oceans for the devastation that Marie may bring to the islands, I'm looking very hard to find the rainbow that will happen following that storm. It's not easy... My spirit is still shattered from the stress that Irma brought to us. The hardest decision that we faced was if we should stay or if we should leave. That decision changed daily as Irma inched her way closer to our home. Many of our friends and neighbors stayed and weathered the eye of the storm; I'm sure we would have been fine had we stayed. We came back to very little damage (thankfully)....but what if the storm would have been a little bit closer? There are so many "what if's" and it's hard ... [ Read More ]
Painted Rock Challenge – September 2017
Hello there rock friends! I bet you're looking for the next painted rock challenge, aren't you? You are in the right place. This is the home of the monthly Painted Rock Challenge. I began this adventure earlier this year as a way to challenge my creative limits. I had no idea it was going to be shared all around the world, so thank you so much for being part of this journey. I personally didn't get to paint much in August, because life happens and hobbies get pushed aside. We're finally getting back into our Back to School routines, so I'm hopeful I'll have more time this coming month. Please feel free to share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or anywhere you happen to be. If you're posting your rock paintings online, I'd love to follow along and see what you create. Just use the #PaintedRockChallenge hashtag. September has a few special dates and holidays that sparked some of the ideas in the challenge. Sept 2: International Bacon Day, Sept 9: Teddy Bear Day (AKA ... [ Read More ]
Painted Rock Challenge – August 2017
It's time!!! Tomorrow is the first day of August and the first day of the next Painted Rock Challenge. I am still struggling personally to complete ALL 30-31 rocks each month. I thought July was going to be my first month to complete them all; but with the kids and work and travel it just didn't happen. I'd love to say that August is my month, but with school starting back next week I know the likelihood of that actually happening is pretty slim! ...but I will try! The only thing that keeps me going is seeing all your beautiful and creative painted rocks each day. Your requests for me to keep this going. I'm so thankful for each of you! Some fun dates this month include Ice Cream Sandwich Day (Aug 1st), National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day (Aug 4th), Left Handed Day (Aug 13th), and National Honey Bee Day (Aug 19th). School is also starting back this month in many states (my kids start back next week) and football is starting up again! Have you joined our private Facebook ... [ Read More ]
Summer Travel Essentials
Sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market. It is my favorite times of summer, I finally get to travel myself. The rest of my family have all taken trips this summer and it's finally my turn. We're a bit non-traditional over summer and don't always get to travel as a family. Earlier this summer my husband took our youngest on a special trip to LA. Both of the kids have traveled with my parents in their new RV; and my husband travels all the time for business. Our annual family getaway is coming up in a few more weeks as we head back to the river for some tubing with friends. ...but this is my week! It's a (mostly) pleasure trip with a little bit of work tossed in. Traveling can wear you out and flying can be horrible on your immune system. It's a great time to boost your vitamins and stock up on a few small travel items. I don't usually check bags when I fly, so having smaller travel sized body care items is essential. My friends at Sprouts Farmers Market are having a Vitamin ... [ Read More ]
Sweet Summer Chicken Salad
This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Yogurt and Taylor Farms as part of the Stonyfield Yogetters Bloggers Network. Summer is in full swing in our house and I'm TRYING to eat more healthy. At the end of May I started a 21 Day Fix "diet" through a friend of mine to help me kickstart some weight loss. I hate the word "diet" because that makes you feel "fat" and I still don't feel fat even though I'm not my ideal weight. I've gotten into some bad eating habits and I really just needed to refocus my priorities and start making better choices. Our family is plagued with heart disease and I am not getting any younger. Plus my kids need to start seeing me make better choices so that they won't have to struggle so much as they get older. ....anyways.... For almost an entire month I've given up dairy, coffee (WOW), breads, pastas, rice, and processed foods. I've been focusing on whole fresh foods; which means a lot of salads. I've slowly started to add back some dairy in the form ... [ Read More ]
Painted Rock Challenge – July 2017
It's time for a new Painted Rock Challenge and I'm even more excited to start this one! In anticipation for July's arrival I already began painting a few of these. That sloth is such a fun animal to paint and the mermaid looks like my daughter! I fell a little behind during June; but my goal is to complete all 31 days for July! Lamb Scarecrow Origami Fireworks Lantern Chicken (For Fried Chicken Day - thanks for the recommendation Angela B!) Otter Blueberry Bird Teddy Bear Snail Eyes Anchor Octopus Music Ice Cream Chameleon Dandelion Watermelon Lollipop Whale Hammock Hot Dog Pineapple Sloth Mermaid Computer (for my daughter, she submitted this one) Door Tiger Friends Rain Many of you have already joined the Painted Rock Challenge Group on Facebook and I'm loving your creations. Thank you to everyone who has shared their rocks with us. To join: Facebook Painted Rock Challenge Group What ... [ Read More ]
Painted Rock Challenge – June 2017
Thank you! I am blown away by all the sweet comments and requests for me to keep posting new painted rock challenges each month. Your emails and comments are super sweet. I'd love to see how far this challenge is spreading so please feel free to comment on this post and let me know. If you don't have a group near you and want to join our painted rock challenge group we'd love to have you! Painted Rock Challenge Group on Facebook. You may have seen very little updates from me in May because we were having our kitchen renovated and I had to pack all my paints away. Now that my kitchen is finally finished I can take part of the June challenge along with all of you. ...because it's too beautiful not to share, here is our new kitchen. If you want to see what it looked like the night before demo began or see the behind the scenes pictures during the renovation be sure to follow me on Instagram @BackToCalley. ...but back to rocks! See those cabinets on the back side of the ... [ Read More ]
Celebrate the Whole You with Stonyfield & prAna
This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Yogurt and prAna as part of the Stonyfield Yogetters Bloggers Network. Mother's Day is tomorrow and our house is in chaos; but what's new! We just started demolition on our kitchen for a very overdue remodel. Our kitchen is the original kitchen from 1985 and the cheap laminate cabinets have been painted over (poorly) several times. As of Friday afternoon the remnants of our old kitchen are now gone and we're left with dust and dreams. Day 2 demo progress! Now we break for the weekend. Cabinets installed on Monday! #kitchenrenovation A post shared by Calley Pate (@backtocalley) on May 12, 2017 at 3:14pm PDT Needless to say I'm learning to live in chaos. We saved out the essential items needed to live day to day and packed up our plates, glasses, and pantry. Most of our kitchen is now packed in boxes and bags in our garage; while the essentials are sitting on our dining room table in the living room. Even the refrigerator and ... [ Read More ]
